UCF Compliance & Ethics Newsletter

Are Reports to the UCF IntegrityLine Really Investigated?

Are Reports to the UCF IntegrityLine Really Investigated?

Yes, appropriate action is taken to review and investigate each report that is submitted to the UCF IntegrityLine. Reports received through the UCF IntegrityLine are triaged and based on the nature of the report, they are either investigated by the University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk, University Audit, jointly by both offices, or referred to the appropriate compliance partner. When we receive reports involving students, we refer those to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. The IntegrityLine launched on September 29, 2014, and received a total of 72 reports the first year. Below is additional information you might find interesting about the reports received.

Intake Method

More than half of the reports came in through the IntegrityLine website, with the remaining either through the IntegrityLine telephone number or by making direct contact with our office.

Source of Awareness

Of the 72 cases received, only 69 individuals reported the source of how they became aware of the misconduct. Approximately one-third of these individuals reported that the misconduct happened to them. The remaining were brought forward by individuals who either observed it, overheard or received the information secondhand, or found a document or file that revealed the issue.

Anonymous Reporting

The majority of individuals submitting a report chose to remain anonymous; however, one-third felt comfortable sharing their identities.

Issue Type

The types of issues reported span a range of more than 20 specific topics including financial, safety, and human resources related issues.

UCF IntegrityLine Closed Cases

We reviewed, investigated as necessary, and closed 53 of the 72 cases we received. The following are case outcomes for the closed cases:

Frivolous. We reviewed one frivolous case that appeared on the surface as a legitimate complaint. After collaborating with the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office to fact check the allegations, we jointly determined that the complaint was not legitimate and closed it.

Insufficient Information. We closed nine cases due to insufficient information. These were cases where the reporter gave very little information. Upon receiving these complaints, we posted questions to the reporter, and they never responded.

Referred. We referred eight cases to our compliance partners in the police department and the office of student conduct, as the cases were more appropriate for them to handle through another university process.

Investigated Cases

We investigated the remaining 35 cases, which resulted in 18 substantiated and 17 unsubstantiated outcomes.

The 18 substantiated investigations yielded enough evidence to support the complaint and a finding that misconduct occurred. These cases required action by the university.

The 17 unsubstantiated investigations yielded insufficient or no evidence to support that misconduct occurred. For unsubstantiated cases, we still may make recommendations for improvements in a policy, process, or training if we identify weaknesses during our investigation.

Reporting Suspected Violations

Did you know that as an employee of UCF, you have an obligation to report any known or suspected violations of laws and UCF policies? University Compliance, Ethics, and Risk provides you with many avenues to report a situation or ask questions about a situation. We encourage you to discuss the situation with your manager, but if you do not feel comfortable doing this then you may report anonymously at www.ucfintegrityline.com or call 1-855-877-6049.